NUGEN Audio Unveils New Halo Downmix Solution at NAB 2017

May 1 2017, 04:00

During NAB 2017, NUGEN Audio unveiled its new Halo Downmix, a highly creative solution for precise downmixing of feature-film and 5.1 mixes to stereo. Another important tool in the Halo series of professional audio solutions for production, post-production and broadcast, the new downmixing software was designed to provide complete control on how a stereo mix will sound, as well as conversion of higher channel surround productions to standard 5.1.

During NAB 2017, NUGEN Audio unveiled its new Halo Downmix, a highly creative solution for precise downmixing of feature-film and 5.1 mixes to stereo. Another important tool in the Halo series of professional audio solutions for production, post-production and broadcast, the new downmixing software was designed to provide complete control on how a stereo mix will sound, as well as conversion of higher channel surround productions to standard 5.1.

According to Nugen, Halo Downmix is a new solution for delivering accurate downmixes that are no longer limited to typical in-the-box coefficient-based processes. It allows for unprecedented adjustment, and provides visual controls for relative levels, timing and direct vs. ambient sound balance.

With Halo Downmix, dialog level can be maintained effectively with phantom center ratio controls and excess ambient sound from rear channels can be managed easily. Low frequencies can also be regulated to ensure appropriate levels in downmix, and timing artifacts in surround channels introduced by legacy upmix practices are now easy to fix, either manually or by using the Halo Downmix auto detection functionality.

In addition, Halo Downmix introduces a surround-to-surround mode for adjusting existing 5.1 or 7.1 mixes for better downmix compatibility or re-balancing of the surround mix.

At the Las Vegas show, NUGEN Audio also demonstrated the latest update to Halo Upmix, the company’s solution for upmixing stereo audio to 5.1, 7.1 or 9.1 surround sound. Based on NUGEN Audio’s proprietary upmixing processes, this update includes algorithmic improvements designed to enhance multichannel-to-multichannel mix and upmix adjustments to further enhance existing surround recordings.

During NAB 2017, new 7.1.2 Dolby Atmos compatible audio tracks were on display for the first time ever in Pro Tools and Avid demo artists showcased Halo Upmix support for this new environment at Avid Technology’s booth. “Halo Upmix, generating 7.1.2 audio in Pro Tools, is just the latest innovation from NUGEN Audio, our prized Alliance Partner whose range of breakout AAX Plug-Ins are available now on Avid Marketplace,” said Ed Gray, Avid’s director, Partnering Programs.

In addition, NUGEN Audio also demonstrated its Loudness Toolkit 2 and AMB Processor. The Loudness Toolkit contains VisLM-H 2 Loudness Meter, ISL 2 True Peak Limiter and LM-Correct 2 Loudness Correction Tool, three innovative solutions that are also available individually. VisLM-H 2 Loudness Meter provides smarter metering with full history and logging. ISL 2 True Peak Limiter provides transparent brick-wall limiting for the assurance of True Peak compliance at all times, and the LM-Correct 2 Loudness Correction Tool enables quick check and correction processing at up to 100x faster than real-time, in NLE or as a file-based stand-alone application.

AMB is a powerful software solution that radically expands on the concept of NUGEN Audio’s industry-leading loudness management batch-processing technology. AMB enables post-production facilities to accelerate workflows significantly and reduce delivery times for a range of different tasks such as loudness correction, dynamics adaptation and upmixing.www.nugenaudio.com